A Lifestyle + Travel Blog Featuring a 20-something American Woman Living an Expat Life in France

A Day in Keukenhof

When people think of spring flowers, tulips are some of the first to come to mind. Tulips are pretty, simple, and come in a wide array of colors. The only downside is their extremely short lifespan!

Perhaps one of the world’s most known flower gardens is Keukenhof. Located in The Netherlands, Keukenhof is known as the Garden of Europe, and contains more than 7 million bulbs with over 800 tulip varieties.

Our Dutch roommate grew up just a few kilometers from Keukenhof, and invited us to come stay when the tulips were in full bloom this past April. Even better, she was also able to snag free tickets from family friends, which was a much appreciated gesture (usually they cost around 25€).

My flatmates and I snagged an early morning BlablaCar from Lille to Amsterdam for approximately 15€ per person, and we spent Saturday exploring the city before joining Christy and her family in Lisse later that evening. We enjoyed a home cooked Dutch meal, cold beers, warm beds, and endless hospitality.

One of many coffee breaks during the afternoon

We came a few days after King’s Day (which is celebrated on April 27th), but the festivities were still in full swing for some…

Reunion beers

The following day, we made our way to the Tulip Gardens! Like typical Dutchmen and Dutchwomen, we arrived at Keukenhof via bike (and then of course did not lock them up). It was such a cool experience being able to admire the tulip fields from the seat of a bicycle.

We spent the majority of the afternoon in the park, which is just full of tulips! Later, we took our bikes and road out to the seaside for drinks and Dutch pick-me-ups before heading to Rotterdam and then onwards to Lille.

If you have a chance, I recommend heading to the Dutch countryside to admire the various tulip gardens and fields. If you can, definitely try to go during the week, because it feels a bit overrun by tourists at the weekends!